Gathering Forces
Summary The events of the southern forest. Darrel Mytura - Southern Woods Region - Day One As the others approached the towering green Zora, Darrel took the last few moments to double check their surroundings, searching for signs of the creature who called himself Morton, for the treant who had silently acted to provide Ithan Chiaria with a tranquil resting place, and for any signs that other eyes might be on them. His head was still spinning, trying to take hold of the implications of what he'd seen inside the laboratory. Matters in Hyrule, matters he'd thought had begun to stabilize, were rapidly growing beyond his capacity to control them. New players, new entities were descending upon the land as factions shifted and multiplied. The layers of agendas, manipulations, and deceits had grown to think to peel all the way through. There was more at work in the land than simply a war for survival, and that was, to him, perhaps the most remarkable development of all. But for Darrel, for now, the war was his sole focus. He could afford to contemplate nothing else, not even the one agenda he'd held close to his own heart for four hundred years. He cleared his throat as he approached the cluster. "Friend Zora. Jeskai, was it?" At the nod, he went on, "We will be happy to have you join us for the trek back to our camp, and I'm sure we all look forward to hearing your tale. However, I have other important questions as well. I would know your attitude toward the war that is unfolding across the realm. The way things are going, and with what we have planned next, we could use all of the manpower we can get." He turned to Ayala, who until now Darrel had not seen in months, and gave a respectful inclination of the head. "Ayala Ma, I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances, but those seem to be in short supply these days. Will you be joining us? We could use a warrior of your strength and experience for what is about to happen." Hidden Encampment (Southern Woods Region) - Late Afternoon One "General Mytura!" He'd barely passed the outermost ring of stakes, the loose boundary outlining the span of their hidden warcamp, when Edge called his name. There was a borderline frantic note to the address, and the marine came sprinting from his tent, past the pickets, and skidded to a halt just before the Sunrise Knight with his hands on his knees. "You have something to report, Edge?" The marine straightened with his arms behind his head. He took a few deep breaths, allowing Darrel a moment to see the scrapes and bruises from a struggle marring one side of his face. "What happened? Twili?" The marine, slowly gaining back a measure of composure, shook his head. "It's Horus, sir. He just... He just lost it, sir. It was like he didn't even recognize us, or know where he was. He went mad and started fighting us. Took all of us to restrain him, and as you can see, it wasn't without taking a few lumps in the process." However much the new allies he'd gained had buoyed his hopes, this news undid it all. His features went slack. It was true that Horus had, on occasion of late, acted erratically, but nothing he'd seen had indicated that something this severe might be coming. If they lost Horus now, on the eve of a massive operation that would require all of their meager forces, it would make success that much more difficult to attain. "It's alright, Edge," he said, feeling beneath the surface that it was anything but, "just take me to him."